We are cruising from NYC to FL and Bahamas on the Jewel in Sept. I'm thinking about things and have questions and I'm sure these are really stupid questions but I'm not able to find answers so I'm going to ask anyways.

1. My husband and I are big water drinkers, don't really drink anything else, besides the alcoholic drinks. So the question is, how much does the water cost and can we get it all over the boat or just the eating areas?

2. During shore excursions, do you have to be off the ship the whole time? Do they still serve meals during that time or do you have to eat off ship?

3. You can use cash in the casinos right? I mean, you don't have to get some kind of credit before the cruise and use that, right?

The water on the ships is just fine to most people, no need to buy it really.
In port stay on get off whatever you want.
Cash usually in Casinos.
Do you realise you are usually required to register a card on arrival for what you spend, as ships are cash free (apart from casinos)?

You can still eat on the ship while you're in port.. I've noticed on my past cruises that the main dining room didn't serve lunch while in port, so we were limited to the lido buffet only.. but that's no big deal.

Casinos usually take cash, although i believe you can buy chips with your onboard account.

On the cruise, you will need to use your room key for all onboard expenses, like alcohol, gifts, spa services, etc..

We are cruising from NYC to FL and Bahamas on the Jewel in Sept. I'm thinking about things and have questions and I'm sure these are really stupid questions but I'm not able to find answers so I'm going to ask anyways.

1. My husband and I are big water drinkers, don't really drink anything else, besides the alcoholic drinks. So the question is, how much does the water cost and can we get it all over the boat or just the eating areas?

2. During shore excursions, do you have to be off the ship the whole time? Do they still serve meals during that time or do you have to eat off ship?

3. You can use cash in the casinos right? I mean, you don't have to get some kind of credit before the cruise and use that, right?

I'm sure there will be more!

Welcome to Cruisemates! The ship's water is as good or better than any bottled water you can buy. Bring a couple of refillable bottles and you'll be fine. You can always get something to eat on the ship in port (or any other time!).

If you're on a shore excursion they may feed you, or they may not. Check what it says in the shore excursion description. You can use cash in the casino (and I recommend it!). You won't get any winnings back in cash; you'll get a "credit slip". You can keep playing with that or you can cash it in at the window. I DON'T recommend that you link your credit card and your casino charges! You could really get in deep.... by doing this!

We are cruising from NYC to FL and Bahamas on the Jewel in Sept. I'm thinking about things and have questions and I'm sure these are really stupid questions but I'm not able to find answers so I'm going to ask anyways.

1. My husband and I are big water drinkers, don't really drink anything else, besides the alcoholic drinks. So the question is, how much does the water cost and can we get it all over the boat or just the eating areas?

The tap water on the ship is very drinkable. It is better than most water you use at home.

2. During shore excursions, do you have to be off the ship the whole time? Do they still serve meals during that time or do you have to eat off ship?

Meals are served the normal times. if there are changes the daily info sheet will let you know.

3. You can use cash in the casinos right? I mean, you don't have to get some kind of credit before the cruise and use that, right?

Some cruise lines let you charge to your cabin card.

I'm sure there will be more!

There are no such things a stupid questions when you are going on your first or five cruise.

Hi, Tipd. Yep, you can get "free water" out of dispensers located in eating areas, or you can buy bottled water, which can run you starting at about $2/bottle and up. They usually have bottled water in your cabin (remember, once the seal has been broken, you've bought it!) and have ice cold water (on some cruise lines) in bottles before you exit the ship for shore excursions.
Ship life goes on for those remaining on it during ports of call days. However, the shops are not open, nor are the bars, and definitely no casino or show action. (This takes away from the ports who are expecting tourist money.) However, on our last cruise, the cruise company owned a private island and on that day, it rained, so to make the cruisers happy on the ship (things did go as planned on the island as well, despite inclement weather), more things to do were added to the daily planner. Also, since the company owned the private island, the casino, shops, bars remained open the whole time. Certain companies who own private islands send some of their crew to work on the island, i.e., prepare the food, entertainment, shore excursions, and so one of the areas on the ship which would serve daily buffet lunches was closed as most of its staff were on the island to cater to those passengers wishing to eat lunch there. There were still plenty of other places to go to eat on board, however.
You can play with real money on board in the casino and they will reimburse you with real money. Some of the casinos slots redeem with tickets which you can then use in other slot machines, and when you're ready to cash out, you can bring them up to the cashier and get "real money." You can also get cash advances (and some if not all ships) have an ATM on board, however, if you get a cash advance from your credit card on board, they will charge you and additional fee.
Sorry I cannot answer about the jogging track, but most liners have a promenade deck wherein you can walk/run, or if not, try out the gym where there are plenty of machines to utilize.
Enjoy your cruise!

Last edited by 2katz3fsh; August 10th, 2010 at 05:06 PM.
Reason: spelled writer's name incorrectly; sorry!

You never have to leave the ship.....Period......Everything is as usual on board when in port......bingos, activities pool all restaurants etc......i usually eat lunch on boat when in port to save the $$$

cash only in casino all else goes on room key card....works well....

Tips are included on food and drink bills so dont add more unless u want to.

Tips for rest of crew are 12 dollars a day per person added to your bill.....you can always see your bill at host desk anytime....works well trust me